In Memorium – a Response

Shortly before Nakba day I posted In Memorium. One response seemed to accuse me of defending, even celebrating immorality. I don’t propose to ‘approve’ the comment since it would occupy the equivalent of 2 pages. But the assertions within it cannot be allowed to stand without response, for the Palestinians are found collectively culpable, through their leaders, for the Holocaust. ‘They knew, they could have acted, they didn’t because of anti-Semitism’. This is the kind of ‘history’ that is taught to Israeli children and it simply is not true.

So, if you are interested, I am making the ‘Comment’ available,together with my response. It runs to 7 pages. The pdf can be found here Memorium-response .

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2 Comments

hi Dave,
thanks for taking the time and effort to make a detailed response! It is much appreciated!!
I want to respond in detail to your own comments, but thought I would start with just one of them, to keep things shorter, and focused. To quote a section of your response, containing first me then you,

[my comment] He urged the Muslims to work for “the expulsion of the Jews from all Arab and Muslim countries. It is the only remedy, it is what the Prophet did 13 centuries ago” and declared that Muslims everywhere should follow the example of the Germans who had found a “definitive solution to the Jewish problem.” [your response] As to the prophet, I am not aware of any evidence that he did anything of the sort.

What the Mufti was referring to here is the well known Moslem belief, based in part on Koranic passages, that Muhammad wiped out the Jewish tribes of Medina (including the be-heading of 800-900 men). The last Jewish tribe were defeated at the battle of Khyber, a fact well known, and why the Hamas website says; “When I was a small child in the seventies was graduated protests to mark Land Day or the anniversary of the Nakba, and I hear you shout , shake Kayani: “Khaybar Khaybar , O Jews , Muhammad ‘s Army will be back” (http://www.gca.gov.ps/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4370:2012-08-02-07-16-40&catid=21&Itemid=48)

Mohammad went on to drive all Jews out of Arabia. He then declared “there will never be two religions in Arabia.” This is the basis for the Saudi refusal to allow any churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia to this day.

The following hadith which forms a part of the Sahih Muslim hadiths has been quoted many times, and it has become a part of the charter of Hamas. [Allah’s messanger, Mohammad said] “The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (the Boxthorn tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews.” (related by al-Bukhari and Muslim).Sahih Muslim, 41:6985, see also Sahih Muslim, 41:6981, Sahih Muslim, 41:6982, Sahih Muslim, 41:6983, Sahih Muslim, 41:6984, Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:56:791,(Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:177) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_antisemitism

These form the basis of the Mufti’s own comment, quoted above. Modern scholarship has cast some doubts as to the accuracy of this communal memory, but it is still accepted and believed by the majority of Moslems.
Hope this helps,
Colin

Dear Colin, I will be brief, I’m getting tired of my own repititions! Blaming the Paletinians for the Mufti is simply immoral. You seem to be trying to make me guilty of ‘justifying’ Hamas, whereas I am more interested in understanding. And, you seem to have bought in to the Zionist reading of history without nuance or regard for context.
The Hadith’s, for instance, must be read contextually – you point out that scholarship has cast doubt on these ‘memories’ then destroy that valuable point by your assertion about ‘the majority of Muslims’. It is an assertion that is unprovable, (it could be true, or it could be false, but there is no way of knowing!).
Finally, as to history: as far a we know the massacre of approx 700 Jews of the tribe Qurayzah was in reprisal for their supporting Mecca in battle. Nor is it correct to claim that Mohammed drove all Jews out of Arabia, that accolade (sarcasm!) belongs to the ‘modern’ nation, Saudi Arabia! Jews had been present in small numbers until relatively recently.
To return to my original point; there is nothing to celebrate as regards Israel’s Independence Day. It represents a wholesale failure of international diplomacy, democracy and morality. Let’s stop blaming and seek understanding, including of Jewish history. That way we may enable Jews in Israel and the Palestinians to find solutions.